We Will Live or Die Based on Media Literacy

Newgrounds creator Tom Fulp said “the net was the first place where anyone could share anything with everyone.”

Everyone is a gatekeeper now.

We are creating the media which becomes our reality.

If we can’t decode the messages we are bombarded with while having the power to send messages ourselves, we are dead in the water.

We live in a world where media is already woven into the fabric of our societal sensibilities and interpersonal relationships. The internet gives us the power to take control of this and broadcast our messages globally with a marginal barrier to entry.

Twitter is a primary communication tool for the US President. YouTube is a hub for thoughtful media criticism with audiences of millions. Foremost political analysts say that late night TV comedians are covering the Trump Administration better than 24-hour news is.

It’s time we take media literacy very seriously.

If we don’t educate ourselves to decode, analyze, and critique the flood of media around us, we fail ourselves and everyone around us. Leaving ourselves open to malicious campaigns, misinformation, and trickery isn’t only lazy, its dangerous.

While influencers need to be careful and ethical about the messages they broadcast, it is also the job of audiences to be able to identify bullshit.

A more media literate society would not only be able to find high-quality, truthful pieces of art, critique, and information, they would also produce more of these.

Without media literacy, we let a minority dictate what everyone hears, sees, and experiences again.

Its time to grasp the reigns of media with both hands and ride with purpose.